Thursday, 24 April 2008

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Lily Allen

Brit singer/songwriter Lily Allen courts controversy with her outspoken views

Name Lily Allen

Birth name Lily Rose Beatrice Allen

Date of birth 2 May 1985

Star sign Taurus

Birthplace Hammersmith, London, UK

Height 5ft 2in

Eye colour Hazel/brown

Marriages None

Children None

Biography

Known for her chav style and cheeky attitude, Brit singer/songwriter Lily Allen has risen from downloading songs on the internet to winning Grammy nominations.

The daughter of comedian Keith Allen, Lily was born in Hammersmith, London, and grew up fast. Expelled from several schools for drinking and smoking, she quit full-time education at 15 and decided instead to stay in Ibiza after a family holiday – but her experiments with drugs on the island led to four weeks in rehab.

After finding little support from record labels, Lily set up a MySpace account in 2005 and began uploading demos, which quickly attracted thousands of listeners. The buzz soon spread and her debut single, Smile, went straight to No.1 in the UK, while her debut album, Alright, Still, was nominated for Best British Album at the 2007 Brit Awards and for Best New Artist at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as Best Alternative Music Album at the 2008 Grammys.

Ever outspoken, Lily is often in the headlines for her public spats with other celebrities, famously taking swipes at Cheryl Cole, Paris Hilton and US President George Bush among others.

A critic of ‘size zero’ fashion, Lily launched her own clothing range, Lily Loves, for high-street store New Look in 2007. It was geared to curvier women and invoked her tomboyish look of mixing prom dresses with trainers. She has also branched out into TV, hosting her own BBC Three chat show, Lily Allen And Friends.

In January 2008, while she was dating the Chemical Brothers’ Ed Simons, Lily suffered a miscarriage but took comfort from hundreds of messages left on her MySpace page. The pair later split and Lily is reportedly now with actor James Corden.

Quotes
‘I’m allowed to have views on things, aren’t I? Isn’t that the point of living?’ (MusicOMH.com)

‘Men and women are basically the same, except women will ask for directions and men will not.’ (The Observer, 4 November 2007)

‘If I fancy someone I’m quite playgroundy about the whole thing and just punch them on the arm a bit. It certainly breaks the ice. And you keep punching lower and lower until you’ve got their dick in your hand and then that’s it. You’ve got them.’ (The Observer, 4 November 2007)

‘I’d like to make fuck-loads of money and then retire by the time I’m 30, please!’ (The Guardian, 21 May 2006)

‘I can’t wait until Lindsay Lohan goes to jail. “Boo hoo hoo. I’m going to jail.” Good. Does that mean you’ll stop showing me your pussy now?’ (Celebrific.com)